CCUS Myth-Busting Live at COP30

UKCCSRC’s very own Dr Jen Roberts participated in the COP30 Blue Zone session “CCUS Myth-Busting Live” that formed part of the official programme at the UK Pavilion. 

With ~80 audience members from around the world, in person and online, the interactive session aimed to cut through misinformation on carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) using trusted voices to explain – clearly and accessibly – the latest knowledge on CCUS. 

The high-energy event featured a short science-based CCUS ‘teach-in’ from DESNZ Chief Scientific Advisor, Emily Shuckburgh, followed by an open Q&A with a diverse international panel of experts, whose task was to clearly tackle the most common myths about CCUS and questions voted on by the audience.

CCUS Mythbusting event at COP30, L to R: Katherine Romanak, Jazmin Mota-Nieto, Nathalia Weber, and Tim Dixon. Panellists Jen Roberts and Alaa Al Khourdajie joined virtually. Image Credit: Olivia Powis, CCSA

The international panel of experts, carefully selected for their expertise and skills in clear and evidence-based communication, included Professor Katharine Romanak (University of Texas at Austin), Dr Jazmin Mota-Nieto (MeCCS), Nathalia Weber (CCS Brazil), Dr Jen Roberts (University of Strathclyde / UKCCSRC), and Dr Alaa Al Khourdajie (Imperial College London / IPCC AR7 Lead Author). The live-streamed panel was moderated by Tim Dixon, Director and General Manager at IEAGHG.

First, the panel tackled four top myths, inspired by UKCCSRC’s mythbusting article published last year, and voted on by the audience in the following order: CCUS is unsafe, CCUS is too expensive to scale, CCUS is not a proven technology, and CCUS is greenwashing.

Audience members then asked brilliant questions such as: Who pays for CCUS? What is carbon lock in? What is the difference between CCUS and CDR? How does CCUS interact with nature based solutions? How much CCUS can we actually store? Will it make a difference in the grand scheme of things? Why don’t we just focus on renewables? How can CCUS be financed in lower income countries?

To hear the panellists’ answers, you can watch or listen to the livestream recording available here: CCUS Myth-Busting Live: Ask The Experts

CCS at COP30

For the first time in the history of UN climate negotiations, there was a dedicated physical space for carbon dioxide removal (CDR) within the UNFCCC Blue Zone. The CDR30 Pavilion represented permanent engineered carbon removals and was coordinated by the European organisation Negative Emissions Platform (NEP). 

Another official COP30 Blue Zone side event explored “What is the Role of Non-State Actors in Delivering CCS, including for Latin American Countries?”, written up in the IISD Earth Negotiations Bulletin.

If you are interested to hear the inside track on CCS at COP30, sign up and tune in to the IEAGHG “COP30: Essential takeaways from Belém” webinar on Thursday 13th December, 3pm.  Missed it?  Read Tim’s COP30 Week 1 and Week 2 blog.